The Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation will summon the Free State’s Matjhabeng Local Municipality to Parliament to account for its ballooning debt of just under R9 billion owed to the Vaal Central Water Board.

The decision was taken during a meeting with the Department of Water and Sanitation, Magalies Water and Vaal Central Water Board to review their 2024/25 annual performance.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the committee said Matjhabeng had assured MPs during an oversight visit in January that it would cooperate on a payment plan, but there was still no evidence it was willing or able to honour that undertaking.

“This is unacceptable and represents the worst recalcitrant behaviour that not only affects the viability of the water board but the livelihoods and possible economic growth within the municipality,” said committee chairperson Leon Basson.

The committee said it now wants Matjhabeng’s political and

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Marakong Village residents in the Free State’s QwaQwa region were left without tap water after a local water utility shut supply to the area when live bloodworms were found in household water, civil society group WaterCAN said on Friday night.

Civil society group WaterCAN said on Friday that more than 100 families are facing a public health emergency after residents reported finding worms in the water flowing from their taps.

Free State water activists working with the group visited Marakong Village, collected samples from several households and confirmed the presence of bloodworms, it said, adding that authorities were immediately alerted.

Maluti a Phofung Water (Pty) Ltd, known as MAP Water, attended the site, confirmed the worms and shut off the water supply to the affected area.

WaterCAN said it had been informed the piped system was being flushed and that valves would only be reopened once the water

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